Major contemporary applications of the dipole EM methods deal with the problems of imaging subsurface contaminated or polluted zones, mapping of saline-water incursion zones in coastal areas, foundation engineering and waste disposal, etc. Because such problems are mostly encountered in populated and/or industrialized areas, inductive electromagnetic (EM) methods employing small dipolar transmit-receive (T-R) systems provide efficient tools to tackle them. A number of T-R orientations, measuring different primary and resultant fields, are currently employed in EM exploration. In most of the above problems the target zone can be simulated by a thin conductive or resistive layer. The present work quantifies the resolving capabilities of various dipole EM systems for such a target layer. The target layer is considered embedded in different types of commonly occurring geoelectrical situations. Comparative study of the resolutions obtained for the target layer by different dipole systems reveals that the perpendicular loop system provides the best resolution due to its unique advantage of being free from primary field interference. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1994